Europe News Headlines

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin basked in his biggest ever election victory on Monday, extending his rule over the world's largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.

BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister said on Monday that Russian denials of responsibility over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England were "increasingly absurd."

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira plumbed a fresh record low against the euro and Turkish dollar bonds hit 13-month lows as an impending U.S. Fed meeting and fears of a trade war fears triggered a broad-based sell-off that also hurt South Africa's rand and Mexico's peso.

ANKARA, March 19 (Reuters) - Turkish forces will not remain in Syria's Afrin and will leave the region to its "real owners," Ankara's main spokesman said on Monday, after Turkey's military and its Syrian rebel allies stormed the town over the weekend.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German online retailer Home24, which aims to challenge IKEA's dominance of the European furniture market, accelerated sales and trimmed losses in the fourth quarter after sources said it is considering a stock market listing.

AMSTERDAM, March 19 (Reuters) - Inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have arrived in Britain to begin an investigation into the March 4 nerve agent attack in the English city of Salisbury, a source at the organization said on Monday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Monday for greater access to the civilian population of Afrin, declaring that the Turkish Red Crescent lacked credibility among the Syrian Kurds after Turkey's military operation.

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - A plunge in Micro Focus' share price on a gloomy revenue outlook sent the UK's top share index down to a two-week low on Monday, with weakness in commodities-related sectors adding pressure.